Exploring the Bible: A 21st Century Option for Informed Believers

 

Exploring Our Biblical Heritages is a science-based educational approach for reading the Bible. The Biblical Heritage Center, Inc. is not a religious organization, therefore we do not require people to accept, adopt or believe an institutional theology. We do expect those who participate with others in our explorations to agree to follow this guideline:

 

My belief system will be large enough to include all facts,

open enough to be examined and questioned,

and flexible enough to change if errors or new facts are discovered.

 

This guideline creates the open and safe environment required for exploring the biblical text. It also gives all participants permission to examine and question each other’s beliefs and a plan for what happens if errors or new facts are discovered.

 

Beliefs About the Bible

 

All Explorers of Biblical Heritages have beliefs about Bibles, while most Explorers also have beliefs based on the words in their Bible. Unlike Bible studies that take place in religious institutions, our explorations have participants that range from religious people to atheists. Religious people and atheists both have beliefs about Bibles, but they are usually polar-opposite beliefs. Religious people have beliefs about God based on words of their Bibles, while atheists do not.

 

Belief about Bibles range from believing

“the Bible is the inerrant infallible Word of God”

to believing “all Bibles are total fiction.”

 

One fact that all Bible readers agree on is -- “Bibles are books with words.” Another fact is that there are rules that govern how those words are understood and communicated. Without those rules, the communication process would not work. We created linguistic models to guide Explorers as they work with the words in Bibles (or anywhere else).

 

1. Identify the Source (author or speaker).

 

2. Identify the Receptor (reader or hearer).

 

3. Identify the Symbols or Sounds (language).

 

4. Identify the Bundle of Associations attached to the symbols or sounds (Source’s culture, time period, geographical location, personal experiences).

 

5. Identify the Context (the environment in which a word or phrase appears).

 

Developing the Exploring Skills above will transform your understanding of the words of in your Bible. Using these skills, you will see things that you wouldn’t have been able to see before. Below are a couple of examples I discussed in previous Exploring Our Biblical Heritages Educational Emails.

 

1. In the context of Genesis 1:1-2:4a, ELOHIYM (Hebrew word) is the “creator of the heavens and the earth.” ELOHIYM is translated “God,” but ELOHIYM describes a type of entity. In this context the name of the ELOHIYM is not revealed. In other words, god’s name is not “God.”

 

2. In the context of Genesis 2:4b-3:24, YAHWEH ELOHIYM (Hebrew words) is the “planter of the Garden in Eden.” Yahweh is the name of this ELOHIYM. The Hebrew words were translated into English as LORD God (King James Version), Jehovah God (American Standard Version), Jehovah Elohim (Darby’s English Translation), Lord God (Douay Rheims Bible), and Yahweh God (World English Bible). We usually translate it “Yahweh the ELOHIYM” or “Yahweh the god.”

 

3. In the context of Genesis 1:1-2:4a, ADAM (Hebrew word) is “one human male and one human female.” This ADAM is able to function as “a producer of a new human life.” This ADAM is also used to describe the collective we call “mankind.”

 

4. In the context of Genesis 2:4b-3:24, ADAM (Hebrew word) is “one male human.” He is incapable of producing a new human life.

 

Genesis 1:1-10:32 is an ancient Hebrew wisdom text. The Source (author or speaker) used the Hebrew words ELOHIYM and ADAM in two different contexts that resulted in their meanings being changed. Readers must be aware of the Hebrew words to discover the wisdom principles the Source embedded in those contexts.

 

In my opinion, being aware of information like this is not only very important, it is an essential requirement for accurately understanding the words that 2.5 billion people base their beliefs on. What do you think?

 

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Never Underestimate the Power of Your Actions!

 

I ended the previous email by asking you to choose one of the four options for translating Chavvah’s (Eve) words. My choice is #3 -- I have created a man with the help of Yahweh. I chose it because of what Yahweh said to her in the Garden -- “I will multiply your pregnancies.” That conclusion is supported by the fact that after speaking those words, she gave birth to Cain’s twin brother Abel.

 

Genesis now jumps from their births to Cain being a farmer and Abel a shepherd. Keep in mind that this is an ancient wisdom text that teaches readers principles about how to walk with God in your life. In the previous story, Adam’s encounter with the snake taught us important wisdom principles. What will be the key event in this story that will teach us the next wisdom principles? The answer is one of the strangest stories in the Bible!

 

Nothing has been said about Yahweh since He drove Adam and Eve from His Garden. Now, in Genesis 4:3, we learn that Yahweh had set an appointed time for Cain and Abel to bring Him offerings. Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground and Abel brought an offering of the firstborn of his flock -- and then this happened.

 

Yahweh gazed toward Abel and toward his offering;

but toward Cain and toward his offering He did not gaze.

 

Put yourself in Abel’s shoes. What would you be feeling and thinking? Now put yourself in Cain’s shoes. What would you be feeling and thinking?

 

Yahweh may have ignored Cain’s offering, but He did not ignore Cain’s anger! Yahweh told Cain that he had the power to rule over his anger – and prevent himself from committing a sin -- by doing things that are TOV (things that protect lives, preserve lives, make lives more functional and increase the quality of life). So, what did Cain do?

 

Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.

 

Did Abel do something that made Cain angry? Or, was it just a matter of removing the person Yahweh had His gaze on? Or, was it something else?

 

The first wisdom principle we learn is that Yahweh showed up after Abel had been killed. Yahweh did not prevent Cain from killing his brother. The same thing happened in the previous story. Yahweh showed up after Adam ate the forbidden fruit.

 

God provides instructions and commandments,

but individuals have a freewill to make his or her decisions.

 

Yahweh: "Where is Abel your brother?"

 

Cain: "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"

 

Yahweh: "What have you done? The voice of your brother's bloods (plural) are crying to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground . . . When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you; you shall be a vagrant and wander on the earth."

 

Cain: "My AVON is too great to bear . . . ."

 

The Hebrew word AVON may be translated sin, guilt or punishment. Each choice paints a different picture of Cain. 

 

1. My sin is too great to bear! Did Cain regret what he had done and take responsibility for his sin?

 

2. My guilt is too great to bear! Did Cain feel overwhelming guilt for what he had done?

 

3. My punishment is too great to bear! Was Cain complaining that he should have received a lighter sentence? 

 

The majority of commentaries lean toward #3 – Cain was complaining that his punishment was too great to bear. He had no regret for murdering his brother, even though the ground cursed him!

 

Yahweh did not forget Abel and He listened to Abel’s blood.

 

Cain’s lack of ability to control his anger affected many generations of his descendants, as well as Yahweh’s decision to wipe humans from the face of the earth.

 

Yahweh’s decision to punish Cain transformed his parent’s lives. It is one of the greatest stories in the Bible -- Adam and Eve will change, will act together, will do TOV, and have another son named Seth. Noah was a descendant of Seth and his actions caused Yahweh to gaze upon him and what he was doing.

 

Never underestimate the power of one person’s actions.

Never underestimate the power of your actions!

Always remember every life is sacred, valuable, and changeable!

 

This is a foundational wisdom principle of the Bible. I will continue the story in my next email.

 

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Biblical Heritage Center

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Shalom and Thank You!

Jim Myers

 

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What Did Eve Say After Having Her First Baby?

 

Adam returned to the ADAMAH (soil) from which Yahweh the God formed him, but for Eve this was a new place. They are living with the consequences of their actions in the Garden. Since they are no longer in the Garden, they must do the things necessary for survival -- first for themselves and second for the survival of mankind. The author uses a technique that compress lengths of time into a sentence or two. It is important to be conscious of this as you read Genesis 4. It opens with these words:

 

And Adam knew his woman Chavvah (Eve),

she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain.

 

The Hebrew word YADA has the following meanings, “to know by mental activity” or “to know by physical experience.” The word YADA is a well-known Hebrew euphemism for “having sex.” The knowledge Adam acquired from the forbidden tree was also YADA “acquired by a physical experience.”

 

● Adam knew Chavvah – The text doesn’t reveal how long they had been in their new land when this happened.

 

● she became pregnant – Time passed before she would become aware of physical changes taking place in her body, and then more time would pass before Adam would be able to see changes in her body. No human had ever experienced these things before.

 

● she gave birth -- At least nine months passed between “knew” and “gave birth.”

 

In the first story in Genesis, the Creator’s blessing empowered the man and woman to function as parents who taught and mentored their children how to live as members of the Creator’s Kingdom. Adam and Chavvah did not have parents. They had never seen a child. Yahweh only told her that “her pregnancies will be multiplied,” but He did not explain what “pregnant” meant. Keep in mind that “you are reading a wisdom text,” not “a historical document.”

 

● Wisdom principles teach “how to walk with (live according to the will of) the God.

 

● Readers discover the wisdom principles by comparing each story to those that came before it.

 

Now put yourself in their shoes when she began giving birth to her first child. What was she thinking? What did Adam think? Where was Yahweh? The Hebrew text of Genesis 4 is one of the most difficult texts to understand in the Hebrew Scriptures. Therefore, readers encounter multiple places in the text where they must choose between several possible translation choices. One of those places is in the words Chavvah spoke immediately after she gave birth to Cain. The words in all capital letters are transliterations of Hebrew words (Genesis 4:1b).

 

And she said, “I have QANIYTIY an ISH ET Yahweh.”

 

The first challenge is to choose one of the options below for translating QANIYTIY.

 

1. I have gotten a man . . . .

 

2. I have acquired a man . . . .

 

3. I have purchased a man . . . .

 

4. I have created a man . . . .

 

Be sure to note that she said, “I have,” not “we have.” Was she “unaware of Adam’s role” in “making a baby,” or was she saying something else? Based on the context of the story at this point, we can eliminate options #1 and #3 above. Now I will present you with the options for the Hebrew word ET. It is a very common word, but it has two very different meanings. The first is as “the sign of the direct object,” which is not translated. It was used this way twice in Genesis 1:1.

 

“In the beginning God created ET the Heaven and ET the Earth.”

 

When ET is used this way, it doesn’t appear in the translation. The second time ET is used, it has two translation options:

 

1. with (with the help of)

 

2. beside (in the presence of)

 

Now let’s add this information to our list of options for translating her words.

 

1. I have acquired a man with the help of Yahweh.

 

2. I have acquired a man in the presence of Yahweh.

 

3. I have created a man with the help of Yahweh.

 

4. I have created a man in the presence of Yahweh.

 

I believe Bible readers need to be aware of the options for translating the Hebrew words of ancient text. Translators often choose the option that reflects their religious beliefs. BHC’s goal is to do our best to determine which option reflects the ancient author’s meanings. Please take time to consider the implications attached to the four options above. I will continue this discussion in my next email.

 

 

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Every year we ask our readers to help fund our work in the new year. We do not include advertisements in our emails or require subscriptions for people to receive these educational emails. We are funded by donations from individuals who value these emails. Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Click Here to Donate Online or mail your donation to:

 

Biblical Heritage Center

PO Box 714

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Shalom and Thank You!

Jim Myers

 

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The Tree that Adam Did Not See

 

Yahweh told Adam that if he ate the forbidden fruit he would die. But now the biblical text reveals something very unexpected in Genesis 3:22b.

 

“And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of

the Tree of Life, and eat, and live forever . . .”

 

Even though Adam was guilty of breaking Yahweh’s commandment and the process of dying had begun:

 

Eating from the Tree of Life could still keep Adam alive forever.

 

Make sure to note that the Tree of Life is the source of eternal life.

 

Adam became like the Tree of Knowledge of TOV and RAH when he did an act of RAH. Now there is only one way to keep Adam from eating from the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:23-24).

 

Yahweh the God sent him out of the Garden of Eden

to till the ground from which he was taken.

 

Yahweh drove Adam out the Garden.

Yahweh placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden,

and a flaming sword which turned every way,

to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

 

Adam began a journey that would take him on a westward journey from Eden back to his homeland and the soil from which Yahweh formed him. The west is where the sun sets, and in the ancient world is a symbol of the end of life.

 

An interesting twist in this story is that you and I know where the Tree of Life is located – in the middle of the Garden -- and what eating from it will do – bestow eternal life on the one eating from it.

 

Adam does not know those things.

 

Adam had been standing next to the Tree of Life and didn’t know it! Yahweh didn’t point it out to him. He may have been aware that the tree was there, but he could not see that it was the source of eternal life. This reveals an ancient wisdom principle embedded in the text:

 

Humans are mortals unless they find a way back to the Tree of Life.

 

The text also reveals the way back to the Tree of Life. We know that Adam became one like the Tree of Knowledge of TOV and RAH when he did an act of RAH.

 

Adam has not yet done an act of TOV, but he has the power to do it.

 

The second story in Genesis is repeating the wisdom revealed in the first story.

 

● Humans have free wills to act as individuals -- doing acts like animals.

 

● Humans have free wills to act together -- doing acts of TOV like the Creator.

 

Doing acts of TOV together is the way back to the Tree of Life!

 

The key to understanding this wisdom is learning how to see through the eyes of the Creator. Seven times in the first story this phrase appeared – “And God saw that it was TOV.”

 

● The Creator’s first act was creating the Light of Life.

 

● The Light of Life is found in everything He created.

 

● TOV is the Creator’s standard for measuring life.

 

● Seeing the state of life in the lives around you is “seeing through the eyes of God.”

 

When you encounter another person be the Creator’s representative and see if his or her life is safe, secure, functional, and that his or her quality of life measures up to the Creator’s standard. If it isn’t, do what is needed to make it TOV.

 

That is the core wisdom principle that is repeated throughout

the Jewish Scriptures and the teaching of Jesus.

 

It is the path back to the Tree of Life.

 

Will Adam and Eve do acts of TOV together so mankind will survive?

Or will they do nothing or do more acts of RAH and bring an end to mankind?

 

I will continue the story in the next email.

 

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How Adam Became Like a Tree in the Garden of Eden!

 Review of Previous Email (CLICK HERE TO READ)

 

● Yahweh will multiply hardship, pain and suffering in general, and the raising of children in particular, in the lives of Adam and Eve.

 

● Yahweh will multiply Eve’s pregnancies.

 

● Eve’s desire shall be towards Adam and they are to rule together.

 

● Yahweh cursed the ground in which the plants that are food for Adam and Eve grow. Thorns and thistles will now grow among the food plants.

 

● Adam will have to labor much harder to produce food.

 

● Adam knows at some point in time he will die and become dirt again.

 

Now let’s continue with the story (Genesis 3:20-24).

 

I have been calling the humans Adam and Eve because those are the names translators have used in English translations of the Bible American’s read. Those names are not in the ancient Hebrew text, so you need to be aware of what they were called in the ancient text until now.

 

● The man was referred to as ADAM by the unnamed narrator of the story. It means “a man.” When Yahweh made the woman, the man called himself “ISH,” which also means “a man.”

 

● The Hebrew word for woman is ISHAH, a word that reflects her relationship to ISH.

 

I will use those words when they appear in the story.

 

ADAM called his ISHAH’s name “CHAVVAH,”

because she was the mother of all living (CHAYYAH).

 

He named her “CHAVVAH” a Hebrew word related to the word CHAYYAH, which means “living.” The word “Eve” comes from the Latin translation of this verse. So, at this point in the Hebrew text we have an ADAM who called himself ISH, and an ISHAH (named by ADAM) and then renamed by him CHAVVAH.

 

Yahweh made the ADAM and his ISHAH

garments of skin and clothed them.

 

Next comes the most important verse in the story, however it is completely unknown to readers of English translation. Below is the common translation found in most Bibles.

 

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become

like one of Us, to know good and evil.”

 

This translation raised that centuries old theological question – Who is the “Us”? Since we us linguistic models to guide us as we read the Hebrew text, the models produced the translation below:

 

Yahweh the God said, “Behold, the ADAM has become

like MIMENU, knowing TOV and RAH.”

 

This is the seventh appearance of MIMENU in this story, and in Hebrew when a key word appears seven times, that means pay close attention to it! The underlined words in the verses below show how translators translated MIMENU.

 

1. Genesis 2:17a - “you shall not eat “from it” (forbidden tree).

 

2. Genesis 2:17b - “in the day that you eat “from it” (forbidden tree).

 

3. Genesis 3:3 - “You shall not eat “from it” (forbidden tree).

 

4. Genesis 3:5 - " in the day that you eat “from it” (forbidden tree).

 

5. Genesis 3:11 - “I commanded you not to eat “from it” (forbidden tree).

 

6. Genesis 3:17 - ““You shall not eat “from it” (forbidden tree).

 

If the translators had translated verse 22 the same way, this is what your Bible would say:

 

Yahweh the God said, “Behold, the ADAM has become

like the Tree of Knowing TOV and RAH.”

 

The ADAM became like the forbidden tree when he broke Yahweh’s commandment! He had produced “fruit that was RAH” through his actions. RAH is the opposite of TOV.

 

An act that is RAH destroys lives, harms lives,

makes lives less functional, and decreases the quality of life.”

 

In the first story in Genesis, God introduced TOV into the creation through His acts. In this story a man introduced RAH into the Yahweh’s Garden through one act. Or to put it another way – God introduced good, and man introduced evil! What Yahweh does next will probably surprise you. I will continue the story in the next email.

 

Please Make a Year-End Donation

and Help Fund Exploring Our Biblical Heritages.

 

Every year we ask our readers to help fund our work in the new year. We do not include advertisements in our emails or require subscriptions for people to receive these educational emails. We are funded by donations from individuals who value these emails. Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Click Here to Donate Online or mail your donation to:

 

Biblical Heritage Center

PO Box 714

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Shalom and Thank You!

Jim Myers

 

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Did God Curse Adam, Eve, or Something Else?

 

I closed my previous email with Yahweh cursing the snake and then turning his attention to Eve. Before I continue with the story, I want to pause and point out some things you must keep in mind as the story continues.

 

The commandment Yahweh gave Adam stated that “in the day you eat of the forbidden fruit dying you will die.” The Hebrew phrase translated “dying you will die” does not mean “you will fall over dead,” it means “the process of dying will begin.” Adam ate the forbidden fruit, and that process began.

 

The first act of justice in the Bible happened when Yahweh asked Adam if he had eaten the forbidden fruit. He questioned Adam and listened to his answer. He questioned Eve and listened to her answer. He cursed the snake. Now Yahweh is going to reveal the consequences of their actions, beginning with Eve.

 

1. I will greatly multiply your hardship, pain and suffering in general. Her life is going to change dramatically from what it has been. Yahweh doesn’t reveal specifically what those changes will be, but He describes three things she has not experienced yet.

 

2. I will greatly multiply your pregnancies. Because Adam ate the forbidden fruit, not Eve, the process of dying has begun. New lives are required to replace the lives of Adam and Eve when they die, if mankind is to survive.

 

3. In hardship, pain and suffering you shall bring forth children. This is related to her functions as a mother and Adam’s functions as a father. It is not connected to childbirth, but to process of raising children. Keep this mind as you read the stories of their children – Cain, Abel and Seth.  

 

4. Your desire shall be to your man. Eve’s desire for the forbidden fruit exceeded her desire for Adam. Yahweh’s words are correcting that situation.

 

5. He shall rule with you. At the beginning of this story, we were told that Adam and Eve will be tested to see whether they will “act together.” Instead they acted as individuals and did things that harmed their own lives. Yahweh’s words are correcting that situation.

 

Be sure to note that Eve was not cursed. Numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5 are directly related to God’s blessing of the humans in the first story. The man and woman are equal to and adequate for each other in every way, but they have specific functions related to their genders that are related to reproducing and raising children.

 

Now Yahweh turns His attention to Adam. The first thing Yahweh does is state the offense Adam committed – “You listened to the voice of your woman and ate fruit of the tree I commanded you, “you shall not eat.” Next Adam learns the consequences of his actions.

 

1. Cursed is the ground because of you. Be sure to note that the ground is cursed, not Adam.

 

2. By hardship, pain and suffering you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Adam’s life changed just like Eve’s.

 

3. The ground will grow thorns and thistles for you. In response to the curse, Adam will have to deal thorns and thistles among the plants he requires for food.

 

4. You shall eat the plants of the field and by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread. Adam and Eve’s new diet will include food that had previously been the food of animals.

 

5. You shall return to the ground from which you were taken, because you are dirt and to dirt you shall return. Adam now knows that his destiny is to return to the ground from which he was taken and that is somewhere outside of and west of the Garden.

 

Adam and Eve stood before Yahweh and heard His words together. At that point in time, they had no way of knowing what those words meant or how dramatically their lives would change. I will continue the story in my next email.

 

Please Help By Making a Year-End Donation

 

Every year we ask our readers to help fund our work in the new year. We do not include advertisements in our emails or require subscriptions for people to receive these educational emails. We are funded by donations from individuals who value these emails. Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Click Here to Donate Online or mail your donation to:

 

Biblical Heritage Center

PO Box 714

Cleburne, TX 76033-0714

 

Shalom and Thank You!

Jim Myers

 

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